How to trust
by GermanVanessa
Summary: Look inside for the trailer! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

How to trust Trailer

"**Everyone thought she had it all"**

_Shows Sharpay driving to school in her pink sportscar._

_Shows Sharpay standing in front of the mirror, looking into it with her typical award-winning smile. _

"**But when someone accidentally gets to see her desperate side…"**

_Shows Sharpay standing on a bridge, ready to jump._

"**Will he be able to help her?"**

_Shows Troy holding her close to him, to keep her from jumping._

_Sharpay: "Noone will miss me anyway!"_

_Troy: "You know that's not true!"_

_Sharpay: "Would you miss me?"_

"**And will he be able to show her what friendship really means?"**

_Troy: "You need to trust me, Sharpay!"_

_Sharpay: "People have violated my trust often enough. What gives me the guarantee that it won't happen again?"_

_Troy: "There is no guarantee. That's what friendship means. Having no guarantee but nonetheless believing in someone."_

"**Will she trust him enough to tell him her biggest secrets?"**

_Shows Sharpay being raped by her father. _

_Shows her looking down at a positive pregnancy test._

"**Or will it be too late…?"**

_Shows Sharpay taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Thinking: Maybe this will do._

**Starring:**

**Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans **

**Zac Efron as Troy Bolton**

**Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez**

**Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans**

**I-don't-know-who as Mr. And Mrs. Evans **

**Guest Appeariences by**

**Corbin Bleu as Chad Danforth**

**Monique Coleman as Taylor McKessie**

**Need-to-think-of-an-actor as Dean Jameson **

**Some-cutie as Elise **

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM and any of its characters. They belong to Disney. However, I do own this storyline, Dean Jameson and Elise.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter one: Don't jump!

Small sobs escaped her lips as she looked down at the mass of water below, her fists clinging tightly onto the railing of the bridge that she was standing on.

Everything was quiet. It already began to darken outside. Noone would see her, if she jumped.

„Sharpay?"

She turned around, looking at the figure in the shadows, panic washing over her, as she sobbed once more.

„Sharpay, what are you doing?", the voice came nearer and she held onto the railing even tighter.

The figure stepped out of the shadows, an utterly shocked expression on his face. Troy Bolton.

„Go away!", she yelled over at him, starting to sob again.

„Sharpay, don't!", he stepped closer, almost running.

„Leave me alone! I don't like people watching me die!"

He had now approached her, standing only one or two feet away from her. His presence made her feel uncomfortable, and she let go off the railing with one hand, somehow trying to scare him away.

His eyes grew wide and he lunged over, hugging her from behind so he was tapping her on the railing, making her unable to jump.

„Don't touch me!", she yelled and hit his hands, trying to get free. „There is nobody going to miss me anyway!"

„You know that's not true.", he said, trying to sound as soothing as possible, more talking into her hair than in her face. She had turned away from him again, looking down at the river.

„Name me three!" She turned her head towards him, her expression somewhat hurt, like she was sure he wouldn't be able to answer.

„It's easy.", he said, still trying to keep his voice calm. One wrong step and she would try to jump again. He couldn't afford to lose her attention. „There is Ryan, your Mom and Dad."

Sharpay let out a snorting sound. „Dad.", she repeated it like it was a curse. „He doesn't love me. He likes making my life hell, that's all. And that makes your total on people missing me two. Let me go now!" Her voice raised at the and of the sentence and she tried to hit his hands again, causing Troy's grip around her to tighten.

„I'm not going to let you go.", he said and to his surprise she stopped protesting.

Sharpay leaned into his embrace and let out a sigh, several sobs following.

„I hate my life.", she mumbled, then turned around and looked him in the eyes. Her face was dirty from crying, her mascara flowing down her cheeks in little rivers. Troy was shocked.

Not just from the events of the previous minutes, but also because she cried. She actually cried. The Ice-Queen showed emotions, for the first time.

„Why can't you just let me go end this tragedy?", she whispered, a cool breeze of wind blowing through her hair, making her look so incredible beautiful, despite the mascara strains.

„I can't. I couldn't live with the know I let you do this."

She turned around again, so he was facing her back again, still not letting go of her. He wouldn't let her jump, still if that meant he had to stay here for an eternity.

Silence settled over them, noone daring to say a word, both of them thinking about what happened, and what was supposed to happen next.

„Would you miss me?" Sharpay's words were barely audible, but he heard them still, finding the question surprisingly hard to answer.

He always wished she wouldn't run after him anymore. He wished that she stopped ruining Gabriella's and his relationship. But if she did, If she wouldn't even be there anymore. Would he miss her?

„It's hard to imagine, but I guess..."

Sharpay turned around again, a doubtful look on her face.

"You just don't want me to jump. You are scared of people judging you. You are scared of your own guilty conscience. You don't have to be. You don't have to lie to me. Just let me take that final step out of this life."

Troy shook his head, at the same time tightening his grip again.

"I won't let you jump, Sharpay. I want to help you."

She turned around again and shook her head.

"You know how you would help me?"

"How?"

"Let me jump. I can't take this anymore!"

"No!"

"Why not? Cause you would feel guilty? Cause you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself for it? Have you ever given a thought about ME?"

He flinched at the sudden loudness of her voice as she yelled the last word out into the cool evening air.

"I thought about you all the time. I can't let you end your own life. Why would you want to anyway?"

Wasn't Sharpay Evans the girl who got everything she wanted? The rich girl? The pretty girl?

Why would she want to flee from such a luxurious life? From a life she seemed to be content with all the time?

"Let's just say I have my reasons, Troy.", her voice was shaking, telling him she was about to cry again.

"Shar. Let me help you. I know you don't believe me, and I know you probably really have your reasons, but I would miss you. I wouldn't miss the icy Sharpay from school, but I'd miss the emotional girl standing right in front of me."

She didn't move. She didn't say a word. Troy just sighed and stared off into the darkness, silence setting over them again.

"I don't believe you.", Sharpay whispered after a while, still not turning around.

"But you need to believe in me. That's friendship. You need to trust."

Finally, she turned around again, looking him deep into the eyes.

"How can I trust you? People have violated my trust often enough. What gives me the guarantee that it won't happen again?"

Troy sensed her growing nervousness and carefully stroked her hair. It was soft, even softer than he'd imagined.

"There is no guarantee. That's what trust is about. Having no guarantee, but nonetheless believing in a person. That's what trusting means. That's what friendship means."

Once again, there was this silence, that didn't seem to have an end.

"I want to be your friend Sharpay. I want to make you believe again." Troy's voice was shaking, but nevertheless sincere. "Because I want to know the girl under the ice-façade. The real Sharpay."

Suddenly, he felt Sharpay grab his arms, holding onto him as if her life were depending on it. Which it actually was.

She began to cry again, meanwhile making her first attempt to climb over the railing, back onto the save side of the bridge.

After a moment of astonishment, Troy began to help her by pulling her body over the railing. She was so light and small. Now, that she stood right in front of him, on real ground, it was the first time he realized how petite she was. How come he hadn't noticed it before?

It was only now that he saw her shoes, or better, her naked feet. She had been looking so much taller in her high heels.

Sharpay followed his gaze.

"Oh. You know. That me-without-shoes-thing. It's a long story."

He nodded and looked up to meet her eyes in the darkness.

"Promise me to never to such a thing again!"

He saw Sharpay flinch. He didn't mean for it to come out that loud.

"I'm sorry. But just don't do it again."

"We'll see…"

"No we won't see! You will not do this again! Come on. I drive you home and tell Ryan and your parents what happened. Maybe they'll be able to keep you from throwing away your life!"

He grabbed her shoulders firmly, pulling her with him towards his car. He didn't mean to loose his temper, but she made him furious. How could she do that?

"NO!", she yelled. "I won't go home. My dad will kill me!"

"That's your own fault."

"Please. Troy! No! Not my dad! Please anyone but him! He'll torture me! He'll show me how much he hates me again!"

Troy had planed to ignore her, but was forced to stop when she wouldn't move. He looked down, spotting her on the ground, nearly hyperventilating.

He knelt down next to her.

"Sharpay… What is it he does to you?"

"He… he.", she sniffed. "I… I… I can't tell you."

Troy sat down onto the ground and pulled Sharpay onto is lap, hugging her tightly. At first he felt her tense up, but after a while she seemed to relax, probably too tired to fight his strong grip on her.

"Shh.. It's okay. You can stay the night at my house. My parents aren't home. Just stay the night and we'll think about the rest tomorrow, alright?"

He looked down, seeing her nodding slightly while still pressing her face against his chest.

"I hate my life.", she muttered and fell asleep before Troy could say anything against it. This day had been really exhausting, making her fall into a deep slumber full of dreams and nightmares.

Carefully, without saying a word, he carried her towards his car, putting her into the back of it and driving home, a million questions clouding his mind…

Sooooooo… that's the first chapter. I hope there aren't too many mistakes in it, and if you remember any, tell me in the reviews I'll hopefully get, so I can fix it. But please be gentle. English is not my first language and I write this story in it because I see it as a challenge. It's hard work to write a chapter like that. So I'd really appreciate any kind of feedback on my work. Reviews are love!

(Imitating Sharpay's voice) Tootles!

Vanessa

P.S. Remember: This isn't my first language, therefore it might take a while 'til the next chapter will be up. I read them over for mistakes again and again and again. Just so you know.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Cruel

Troy shifted around on the couch for what seemed like the hundredth time this night. He couldn't sleep. His body was exhausted but his brain was wide-awake, thinking about the girl upstairs in his bed, how she whimpered in her sleep. Obviously, she had some kind of nightmare, but he didn't dare to wake her.

He shot a quick glance towards the big grandfather clock on the opposite wall. 4.12 o'clock in the morning. Frustrated, he shifted around once more and closed his tired eyes, finally coming to rest.

"Bolton?" It was only a whisper, but still enough to keep him from falling asleep completely. Groaning, he turned his head to the side, looking at the blonde in front of him. She looked so unalike her normal appearance, with the wild hair, tired eyes and mascara strained face.

"What?" he asked, a little annoyed that she had to wake up just the moment he was about to fall asleep.

"Um…", she looked to the ground. "Thanks… I guess."

"Huh?" That was unexpected. Since when did Sharpay Evans, the ice queen, ever say thank you? He stared at her and she looked down, clearly ashamed.

"Without you I would have left. But now, I know I can't do this to Ryan. He doesn't deserve that."

Troy wasn't sure what she meant with 'that', but didn't question it any further. Something about the look in her eyes gave him the feeling that he wasn't supposed to know the true meaning behind this simple word.

Sharpay looked straight forward, her quiet sigh the only thing breaking the uncomfortable silence between the two.

"Are you okay?"

She turned her gaze towards him and shrugged.

"I guess. Had a bad dream, that's all."

"Wanna talk about it?" Troy asked, truly concerned. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. What has to happen to a person to make them do something like she did earlier? What was it that haunted her dreams?

Sharpay sat down on the couch, on the far left end, while Troy sat on the right.

"You won't tell anyone about it, right?", she asked, her voice practically begging him not to do so.

"About what? Your dream?"

"No! I'm so not going to tell you about that!" She paused and shook her head vehemently. "I mean the thing that happened, you know? Let's just forget about this. I was stupid, and I know better now."

She looked down towards her hands and quietly began to scratch the pink nail polish off of them. In some kind of nervous manner, she started biting her lip, her gaze never leaving the leftovers of her once pink colored nails.

"I don't know, Sharpay. I kind of feel like it's my duty to tell someone. Your parents at least."

"NO!" she yelled, jumping off the couch and kicking it with her small, naked feet, ignoring the pain that would certainly follow. "You can't! No! No! No! If you do… Then… Then…" she paused for a moment, thinking of a thread. "Then… I'll say you lied. No one (AN: I spelled that right! Applause please!) will believe you, cause no one knows the truth!"

Troy had meanwhile stood up, too, placing a calming hand onto her shoulder.  
"Breath, Sharpay! It's okay. I won't tell anyone. At least for now."

She looked up at him and smiled. A thankful, sincere kind of smile, not one of the flirty ones he normally received from her. Maybe she had really given up. Maybe she would never flirt with him again, never bother him again. Somehow, to Troy, that was a disturbing thought. He had gotten used to it. Not that he was interested or anything. He had Gabby. But somehow, Sharpay's flirting had always been kind of entertaining… cute even. And it definitely didn't hurt his ego either.

As he looked down into her eyes, still looking so thankful, so relieved, he couldn't help but second-guess his decision not to tell anyone about her suicide attempt. After all, he had the responsibility now, whether he wanted it or not.

Sharpay walked over to the big window at the opposite wall and looked out of it, a thoughtful look plastered on her face, little wrinkles of worry appearing on her forehead.

It was still early, the sun had just begun to rise.

Troy just let her think whatever she needed to think about and remained silent.

After a while she seemed to have finished, because she shook her head as if to clear her mind from the upsetting thoughts and turned towards him, one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised in a questioning, yet amused way.

"So, you're seriously my friend now, huh?", she asked in a mocking tone.

Troy smiled.

"Of course. But don't expect me to start wearing pink hats and follow you anywhere like a lost puppy."

Sharpay gasped and hit his shoulder playfully.

"Don't insult my brother or you'll regret it, doofus!"

He chuckled.

"Oh yeah. I'm really scared. You could poison me with nail polish! Ohhhhh!"

Again that playful hit.

"Maybe I should reconsider the pink hat thing."

"Nah! Pink's not my color."

Three hours passed by quicker than both of them had expected.

Sharpay started to lose her tension around Troy a little and actually showed humor, not just about others, but also about herself. Troy even began to like her somehow. At least she was more likeable, without the ice queen attitude.

At some point that morning, Troy began to wonder if the whole icyness might just be an act, a way to keep people away from her, so they wouldn't see her problems. Maybe it was just a way to hide how broken she really was. How desperate.

"Troy!" she whined, tapping her foot impatiently on the shining white tiles on the bathroom floor. "Hurry up!"

"Wrrhy?", he asked, his mouth full of toothpaste.

"Because…", she began, the impatience evident in her voice. "You still need to drive me home before school starts."

He split the toothpaste out into the sink and wiped his face with a nearby towel.

"And why is that?"

She scoffed and gave him a 'duh' look.

He only looked at her questioningly. Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Look at me! What do I wear?"

And it was only then he realized that all she wore was a white nightgown. It almost looked like a dress, only the lacy edge of it showing that it was indeed nothing to wear to school. He swallowed. Why hadn't he noticed before?

"Umm… I guess. You really should… change."

Sharpay clapped her hands with fake excitement.

"Oh, what a _brilliant _idea, Troy. Really, _brilliant! _Well done, Einstein!"

Troy just rolled his eyes.

In the end, they didn't drive back to the Evans' residence, mostly because Sharpay really didn't want to. And after Troy had an idea, there was no need to anyway.

"You know, I guess you could borrow some stuff from my sisters closet." he suggested, causing Sharpay to look at him questioningly.

"You've got a sister?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. She goes to college, but some of her stuff remains here for visits."

Troy began to make his way over to the room next to his own and opened the door with a squeaking sound.

They both stepped in, Sharpay looking around the room briefly before opening the closet door.

It was an ordinary room. A little empty, though. Only two books on the shelf, a lonely desk in the corner and a little, perfectly made bed by the wall opposite the closet.

Much to Sharpay's dismay, she found out that really only very few of the clothes were still here. There wasn't much to choose from, but after all, she ended up with something acceptable. Not really her style, but it was okay.

The drive to school was uncomfortably silent. Somehow, they both had their own worries, Troy mostly about how he would explain his newfound friendship with Sharpay, if you can even call it that. And Sharpay about the trouble she would get into as soon as school was over and she was forced to go home.

Despite what people thought, the Evans weren't the happy family at all. It was all a scene. A big act to impress people. Sharpay had learned early to work hard to get attention. And since she hadn't gotten the roles in Twinkletown, she got no attention at all. At least not the kind of attention she had worked for her entire life. The kind of attention she needed desperately, but never got. It was the kind of attention a loving parent gave his/her children.

She just wanted them to be proud of her, to brag about her excellent acting skills and her beautiful voice. She wanted to be acknowledged, envied but most of all…loved.

Ryan was a different story. He didn't have these problems. He was always the better twin, the one who the parents preferred. And Sharpay knew exactly why. But that was just one of the Evans' family secrets. One of the many secrets Ryan didn't know about.

Sharpay didn't want him to know. It would only upset him if he did. She wanted him to keep living in a world where everything was fine. A world without abuse and secrets. A world the other people saw.

Because after all, she loved her brother to death, although she would never admit it.

"Stop right there!", Sharpay demanded a few blocks away from school.

"What? Why?"

"Because." She began. "I can't get out of your car on the school parking lot. Think about what people might think. They'll probably start spreading rumors about us having an affair."

Troy blushed but nodded anyway.

"You've got a point. I wouldn't have thought of that."

"I know. I'm the brain here.", she joked, giving him a last smile before opening the door.

"Um… Sharpay?"

"Yeah?" she turned around again.

"In school. Will you be… all ice queen again?"

"What do you think? I have my reputation after all. Or would you really think just because you are sort of my friend now, I'm going to help little old ladies across the street?"

"I don't know… I was just wondering. Why are you like that in school in the first place?"

As soon as the question has left his mouth, he regretted it. This was way too personal. They didn't know each other well enough for that kind of question.

But much to his surprise, she answered it anyway.

"Because I LOVE that!" she said, emphasizing the word 'love' a little too much.

Troy was completely shocked.

"Wait? Did you just say you _enjoy_ bullying people around and hurting their feelings?"

Sharpay nodded, looking down at her feet.

"Yes, I did."

Troy looked at her, still a look of utter shock and disappointment on his face. He didn't understand. The girl he had come to know last night and this morning didn't seem to be like that at all. The Sharpay he had gotten to know was so… different.

"I'm a monster, aren't I?" she asked softly, still looking down at her feet, or rather a pair of Troy's sister's winter-boots. "I'm cruel, aren't I?"

Troy shifted in his seat. Somehow he couldn't find the right words to contradict her statement.

"You know…", Sharpay started. "I think I like it so much because of the control." she said. "I just like having control. I like people fearing to even talk to me. And I like being able to make them do anything I want. I like letting the little kids from 9th grade get me a drink in the middle of detention, I like it that no one is brave enough to say anything against me. And as for Danforth and your other buddies, I even like them telling that stupid ice queen jokes, cause that only means I made an impression."

Troy nodded, still not really understanding her at all. _If he only knew…_Sharpay thought, shaking her head as soon as the idea crossed her mind. _No, I'm not going to pull him into this mess that is my life. It's worse enough that he saw me last night. I can't let him handle any more responsibility and I can't force him to keep any more secrets. _

She closed her eyes and reopened them, only to see that the look of utter shock and disappointment still hadn't left Troy's features. She let out an audible sigh.

"Look. I know you probably don't understand. And I can't blame you anyway. Let's lust say, it's… complicated. There is no need for you to know it all. And about the whole friends thing… Let's take it slowly. People will get suspicious if you hate me one day and are friends with me the next. Just leave it for today and start tomorrow, okay?"

She shot a quick glance in his direction and then walked off without giving him the chance to say anything in reply.

Troy looked after her, how she held her head high and put an extra sway into her hips as she walked, her blonde hair bouncing with every step she made. She seemed to be back into 'ice-queen mode'. Sadly…

"Hey, sis. Where've you been last night? Dad was really worried about you. He said he desperately needed to talk to you."

Sharpay let out a snorting sound. She knew exactly was her father meant with 'taking'. Also did she know that it would probably be even worse today, because she let him wait.

"I've spend the night at a friend's house. I really needed some time away from home, you know?"

Her brother nodded, giving her a curious look-over with his eyes.

"You got that clothes from said friend?"

"Um… yeah, exactly. She let me borrow them for today. She's really nice."

She smiled at him and opened her locker, taking out a set of her own clothes. At least she would be able to wear her own stuff later…

The school day seemed to be normal. In homeroom the class listened to Ms. Darbus' ranting about the evil that was called cell phone (well, they listened more or less).

In chemistry Gabriella was being her annoying self, raising her hand at every single question, everytime answering them with a rant that was nearly as worse as Darbus' from the previous lesson.

_You're jealous, _a little voice in Sharpay's head stated. _She's got the brains _and_ looks quite well. And she's got Troy._

The blonde bit her lower lip to keep the sigh from escaping as she looked down onto the sheet of paper she had been doodling on: A flower, some games of tic-tac-toe she had played with herself and a little pink heart with he letters T.B + S.E. written into it.

_How pathetic am I? I seriously need to get over this!_

She quickly grabbed the paper and crumbled it into her hand. _No more crushing on Troy!_

But that was easily said. Actually doing it was way harder. But it was worth a try…

It wasn't 'til the last lesson of the day that she saw Troy again. She had spent lunch break changing into clothes that were really hers and thinking about ways to avoid her new 'friend' for the rest of the day. She would never admit it to anyone, but last nights incident was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to her. And, of course, it had to be Troy who saw her.

Everyone, even her own twin, thought that she was over her crush on him, and sometimes, she even thought that herself. However, deep down she knew that she was only fooling herself.

"And now." The teacher announced, grinning his normal devilish grin. "You're going to get your tests back. There were only two A's a lot of B's and C's, no E's and one F, sadly. However, I want the person with the failed test to let their parents sign it, so I can be sure they really saw the test."

Immediately, Sharpay scooted further into her seat, avoiding the look the teacher shot into her direction. She knew she had failed. And it wasn't that she didn't understand the topic. She actually understood it pretty well. It was her nervousness that kept her from answering the questions correctly. She was always kind of scared. And she knew that she would get in trouble at home for failing yet another test.

"And I want you to give a little applause to the A's: Elizabeth and Gabriella.", the teacher said and Sharpay began to applause with very fake enthusiasm. That was another thing she hated about this teacher. He always wanted the class to applause for the good ones, making her feel even worse.

The teacher began giving everyone their tests back, turning Sharpay's upside down, so no one would see that she had failed.

_The next time make it even more obvious,_ she thought bitterly. _My test is the _only test_ that is upside down. People will know eventually._

She quickly grabbed the sheets from the adult and folded them in the middle, so nobody could see the front page with the big red mark/grade (?) on it.

The last bell rung and the whole class jumped off of their seats. Within seconds, the classroom was empty.

Troy wanted to catch up with Sharpay. She hadn't been in the cafeteria in lunch break and he had been worried that she might have done something to herself again. Maybe it was overreacting, but he was really protective of her after witnessing last night's events.

After some minutes of searching, he found her in the hallway talking to Ryan. She wasn't sure what they were talking about, but it didn't really matter anyway. His gaze wandered to the folded sheets in the girl's hand and how she threw them into a nearby trashcan.

He waited for the twins to disappear around the corner before fishing the sheets back out of the garbage can next to the lockers.

_Mathematic Test No. 3 _

_F Second failed test this year! Disappointing!_

Troy read over some of the exercises. Sometimes, there was only the sum, copied from the exercise worksheet. For another exercise she had obviously tried several times to solve it, ending up with crossing all her attempts out again.

At the last exercise her handwriting had become irregular, nearly unreadable. A clear sign of the exasperation she must have felt as the time was up.

"I knew the ice queen had the F! Dude, do you know what this means? We finally have something to hold against her! We could even blackmail her with it!" Chad exclaimed.

Troy flinched. He hadn't noticed his best friend behind him 'til now.

Sharpay would certainly kill him, if she ever found out it was Troy's fault that Chad knew about her failed test, one of her weak spots.

Troy shuddered as he imagined it. _Cruel, definitely…_

Hey, guys. So, I'm back with a 5 and a half pages chapter! It's not dramatic. I can't put drama in every chapter, but it is gonna come.

I probably won't be able to update too soon, cause school starts again on Thursday. Sorry for that.

And since I saw people answering their reviewers here, I'm gonna do it, too.

First of all: Thank you soooooo much! It really means a lot to me that you liked it.

So now some answers I have to make.

Karen Gonzales

Thanks for the suggestion, but it won't fit. If you keep on reading and see who he is, you'll know why.

kellyharper

Your comment is confusing me. Personal? This are fictional characters, there is nothing to be personal about. And, btw. There is no Vanessa in this story (okay, maybe there will be if I decide to make myself have a little cameo). This is, like I said, fictional. Means, no real people (Vanessa Hudgens ect. pp.), but the characters (Gabriella, Troy ect. pp.). I guess you mean if Troy is cheating on Gabriella, and as for that. I won't tell you the answer. If you want to know you'll need to keep reading ;-)

But I need to add that I think it's kinda strange to be 'personal' about this kind of stories when you have trouble to differ the actors from the characters.

But to relieve you a little: I would NEVER write anything about real people, because it is their lives and I won't make them do things that might offend them.

-xGuiltyxPleasure-

Thanks for letting me know about the mistakes. I'll change it asap. If you've noticed some in this chapter, I'd appreciate you telling me again. (But I'm not forcing you, just if there are some you still remember, of course). As for my English, thanks again. Reading fanfiction teaches the language better than any teacher could.

Some explanations:

**Troy sleeping on the couch.**

Later on I've noticed that he could have stayed in his parents' bedroom or his sister's room. Let's just say he didn't want to stay in either, because of privacy (I for myself wouldn't like to stay in my parents room. And I've got a friend whose sister would probably kill her for staying in her room)

**Doofus**

I just needed to use this word, because I think it comes from the German word 'doof' which means as much as 'silly'. And now you've learned your first German word! (a really important one!) :-)

**E's**

Got a question for those. In Internet, I've read that there are E's. But we once had a student from Canada in our class who said that there were no E's. Do they exist?

**Grade/mark**

Is it mark or grade? I always switch it up. The first years in school I learned British English, last year we started American. I try to write the American way. Which one is right?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Wish it were a dream

A quiet squeak cut through the silence in the only pink room on the second floor, its door slowly opening. The room was barely lit, only the moonlight fought its way through the half-transparent curtains. The girl in the king sized bed squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to slow her breathing, making it look like she was asleep.

Sometimes, when he was drunk or when his need wasn't that urgent, he would disappear again without doing anything, not being in the mood to wake her. But it was a rare happening. It'd only happened twice before and she didn't have much hope for the man leaving anytime soon. Not before he got what he wanted, what he craved every night he was home.

She heard his footsteps slowly approaching. His step was uneven, telling her that he was either drunk or too eager to pay any attention to his walk. The mere thought of it made her feel sick.

He had now approached the side of her bed. She heard his heavy breathing and felt her mattress shift as he sat down next to her onto the very same bed that she normally slept in. She felt her heart beating violently against her ribcage and was almost sure that he heard it.

"Hello, my dear. Time to wake up."

She felt his warm breath on her skin as he whispered this two half sentences into her ear, his voice surprisingly sober, without the hint of alcohol tracing his breath. She didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified.

She felt his hand on her hair, pulling it back to reveal her face some more. She fought back the urge to open up her eyes.

She knew what would come next. It was always the same procedure, only very slight variations from time to time. He would touch her face, beginning with her forehead and ending with her lips. Then he would pull the bedcover to the side and look at every curve of her body, practically absorbing what he saw. If she wouldn't have been opening her eyes by now he would slap her across the face, once, twice, sometimes even three times to be sure she was conscious to witness everything in its whole intensity. He tended to do it so painfully slow. But the worst thing was, that he didn't even do it out of lust. His reasons were different, very different. He wasn't some kind of pedophile, had never been. He didn't do it because of sexual satisfaction. He did it out of pure hatred, because he knew that the things he does to her hurt her the most. It hurts her more than every hit, every kick. It hurts her more than every pull on her hair. And because he despised her so much, her pain was the only thing that really satisfied him.

It was a dirty act. She felt dirty after it, every time having the need to take a shower when he was finished. And it hurt. Not just during the night, but also the next day and the following, the pain only slowly subsiding. But she was almost used to it by now. She had learned not to fight back, because the pain would only increase. And so she let him, because she had no choice.

Just like this night…

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Troy tiredly put his arms onto his table and buried his head in them. He had been awake the whole night, thinking about the recent happenings with Sharpay, and about what her reasons might be. He was worried, to say the least. He had feared going to school today. _What if she won't show up? What if she never will again? If she finished what she'd started the night before?_

"Hey, dude!" Chad stood next to Troy's table, shaking his best friend's shoulder violently.

"Huh?"

"You don't really want to be asleep when Darbus comes in, do you?"

Tiredly, Troy shook his head. "No, I don't… not at all."

The look on Chad's face told him that he wanted to add a comment about his tiredness, but he didn't get the chance to, his gaze drifting away from Troy but towards homeroom's entrance.

Troy followed his gaze and watched the scene playing before him. The Evans twins were coming in, Sharpay obviously in the worst mood that Troy or any of the wildcats had ever witnessed before.

Her steps were stomping, adding an overdramatic effect to her current mood.

"Shut up, Ryan!" she yelled, giving him an evil glare before sitting down onto an available seat near the window. It wasn't her usual seat, but far enough from Ryan to curse without her brother hearing it. Not that she minded if he did. She just didn't want to sit next to him.

Troy watched as Marie, a small, shy girl to whom the seat normally belonged walked up to Sharpay and tapped her shoulder slightly. If Troy wouldn't have been concerned about her, he probably would've found it amusing that Sharpay's position mirrored his own just a few minutes ago.  
Marie tapped Sharpay's shoulder again.

"Don't touch me!" Sharpay hissed, intimidating the girl in front of her immediately.

"S-Sorry. I-I just… it's my seat, you know?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes at the girl's stuttering.

"A-and guess w-what? Now, I AM sitting here. This place is taken. Where do we go then?"

"U-Uhm. To your usual seat?"

"Exactly." The blonde smiled a mocking now-you-finally-got-it-smile. Then her face turned serious again. "What are you waiting for? GO!"

Marie turned around again and quickly scampered towards Sharpay's usual seat next to Ryan.

Troy felt sorry for the girl. He didn't understand what happened that made Sharpay's mood that bad. He wanted to talk to her, but he knew better than that. Troy was absolutely positive that he wasn't ready to face the war of Sharpay Evans just yet. Especially when she was like that.

During homeroom lesson Troy caught himself several times glancing over towards Sharpay. Something was seriously off. She was constantly moving into another sitting position. Once crossing her legs, then opening them up again. Once sitting on the edge of the chair, then sliding in the middle again. It was like something was bothering her, rather hurting. She seemed to be unpleased with every position she tried, only remaining for a few seconds before squirming again.

Had she always been like this?

Sharpay turned her head towards his direction, giving him a weird look. 'What are you looking at, Bolton?'

She mouthed the words just before once again sliding around on the chair in search for yet another position she hadn't tried out.

Ms. Darbus' lesson passed and Sharpay was off to Chemistry before Troy even had the chance to catch up with her. It was only Ryan he met by chance on the way to his locker.

The twin was seriously annoyed with his sister, kicking his locker in frustration before leaning against it and closing his eyes in exhaustion.

"Hey, what's up with Sharpay today? She seemed to be… in a bad mood."

Ryan opened his eyes again at the question, looking over at Troy and giving him a look.

"You think I know that? She's been in a bad mood all day long, nothing out of the usual. But somehow, she got really mad at me, saying that our mother always prefers me. She just doesn't understand that the world doesn't revolve around her! Sometimes other people are important, too. And she just doesn't get it. Dad spoils her too much. He gives her everything she asks for. Every freakin' outfit, cell phone and god know what else she needs!"

Ryan breathed heavily after his outburst. "Sometimes… I begin to wonder if you guys are right. Maybe she really is an ice queen. Don't get me wrong. I love her. She's my twin sister after all. But still. Her behavior makes me like her less every day."

For a little moment Troy considered telling him what happened the other night. The pained expression on Ryan's face made it hard for him not to do so, but in the end, he didn't say a word. Sharpay trusted him, and he certainly didn't want to lose the small bond that had started to form the night and the following morning. But he felt so sorry for both of the Evans twins. For Sharpay because of what ever made her that desperate to take such drastic measures, and Ryan because he somehow didn't understand his sister's problems that were so much deeper that the ownership of a pink-glittery sidekick phone.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It was lunchtime and in the Cafeteria, Troy finally spotted Sharpay. Her mood didn't seem to be improving, as she still had that stomping in her walk and her nose held higher than usually. She didn't sit with Ryan and the other drama people. Instead, she spent her time walking around the cafeteria, sitting down on the stairs for a minute (again, she shifted a lot while doing so) before standing up and continuing to walk around. It was obvious that she didn't really know where to go, as she didn't really have anyone besides the drama club. Or had she?

Troy decided to make his first attempt in the 'friendship' stage. He knew Sharpay had told him to take it slow, but inviting her to his table didn't seem to be a bad idea to him at all.

"Hey, Shar!" He walked up to her and greeted her with one of his typical charming smiles. It was moments like these when Sharpay wondered if he did it on purpose. If he knew exactly how she felt when he smiled at her and if he used it to his advantage. But, of course, he never would. He was a too good person to take advantage of another person's feelings. He would never do that.

"What is it, Bolton?" she asked calmly, her bad mood evidently rubbing off on her voice, giving it a sharp tone.

"So, we're back to the last name now?" he still smiled, even though she could tell he was a little disappointed in her lack of kindness towards him (or anyone, for that matter). She forced a smile before responding half-joking/half-serious.

"I'm sorry, _Troy._ So, why are you here, talking to the ice queen in public. Don't you know what that does to your reputation?" Sharpay crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. A move that could easily be misinterpreted as discomfort.

Troy rolled his eyes at her question, not completely sure whether to take it serious or to laugh it off.

"Well, actually, I wanted to invite the 'ice queen' to my table." he made a slight gesture towards the wild cat table and Sharpay met the eyes of Chad, Taylor, Gabriella and the other's starring at her in utter bewilderment, wondering why Troy would talk to the drama princess.

She turned back to him and determinedly shook her head, holding up her hands for emphasis.

"Oh, no. I don't think I'm very welcome there. No way!"

"Oh come on. I'm sure they'll like you as soon as they get to know you better."

Sharpay let out a snorting sound.

"Oh yeah. Sure they will. And tomorrow, Mrs. Darbus will like cell phones. Gosh, Troy. How naïve are you? I don't even like them myself, and they don't like me. Why would I want to sit with them?"

"Sharpay, please! At least try it. For me!"

_Did he have to add these last two words? _Sharpay knew exactly that it had done the trick. She just couldn't deny him anything. After all, she felt deeply for him, even though she didn't even admit it to herself sometimes. But although Troy had already convinced her with that two last syllables, she was still reluctant.

"I really don't think that's a very good idea, Troy. They'll think I'm some kind of intruder. I don't think they want me there. You shouldn't invite me without asking their permission anyway and I don't want to seem intrusive…"

She trailed off, deciding that she didn't want to start ranting about this. Troy just gave her an amused look.

"You know, for the 'ice queen' you think a lot about other peoples feelings." He smiled knowingly. Sharpay Evans was such a hypocrite. She made people think of her as an icy, narcissistic person, when her true personality didn't seem to be like that at all. She may be a little conceited, tough. But not emotionless in any way.

"I don't care about their feelings. I am just searching for a way to not sit with them, that's all."

Troy could tell she was lying, at least a little. He didn't doubt that some part of her really wanted to use that as an excuse to not spend the whole lunchtime with Troy's coterie, who obviously disliked her. But he knew just as well that she really didn't want to interfere.

Troy smirked.

"Well, if you don't care about their feelings then you can come with me."

Sharpay was dazzled by his smile. Again. There were moments she wondered whether that was normal.

It took her a few seconds to realize that she had lost the battle-and therefore needed to come with him. She nodded briefly before reluctantly following towards his friends' table, still pondering over how he got her to do that. It probably was some kind of reverse psychology, the kind parents use on little children when they didn't want to clean their room. She decided that his move of using her own argument for himself was simply unfair.

"Sharpay is sitting with us today.", Troy presented them with a fait accompli. (AN: I first thought google translator was accidentally on French. I had to double check!). The wildcats looked at each other, the question literally written on their foreheads. _Did you know he was planning that?_

Zeke seemed to be the only one smiling. A rather dorky smile, indeed. Sharpay had overcome her cookie-obsession and was rather annoyed by him these days, but she knew that Zeke was the smallest problem. The others showed looks of dislike, a little disgust even, and Sharpay had never felt that humiliated in her entire life, except for her and Troy's encounter on the bridge.

"Dude, couldn't you've warned me that the ice queen will be sitting here? I would have brought a scarf and gloves." Chad exclaimed, rubbing his upper arms like he would be freezing. Sharpay shot an icy glare in his direction, trying to ignore the sickness in her stomach that always occurred in such moments. It was the kind of sickness one felt when their feelings were hurt. But of course, Sharpay would never allow herself to show it in any way. To her, it was weakness, and even though she sometimes even enjoyed listening to Chad's little jokes, today, she most definitely wasn't in the mood for it.

Sharpay hesitantly sat down, faintly hearing Troy scolding his best friend for his bad behavior towards her, but ignoring it. Gabriella gave her an apologetic smile. Sharpay chose to ignore that act of kindness, at least for now. Gabriella was way too sweet for her likings. It was nearly unnatural. If this were a movie, Sharpay was sure that she would end up as the evil witch while Gabriella Montez was the all-loved main character. Such a Mary Sue.

The blonde watched as Troy sat down next to her, surprising enough. Somehow, Sharpay had expected him to sit next to his girlfriend. Maybe he really did like her. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips at that thought. Perhaps he didn't think as bad of her as she though he would, especially after he'd come to know her dark side.

She couldn't help but remember his soothing words, wondering what would have happened if it weren't for him coincidentally showing up on that bridge. Would she have done it? Jumped all that meters into the dark, freezing cold water? Would it have killer her if she did? Somehow, she had never thought of that. If she maybe would've survived her jump.

"You okay?"

Sharpay shook her head, clearing it from the disturbing thoughts. She nodded eagerly.  
"I'm fine."

The doubtful look on Troy's face told her that he didn't believe her, but he returned to his conversation with Jason nonetheless.

They were all talking, even though not everyone about the same topic. Sharpay managed to catch some words from the many sentences spoken. Jason said something about purple elephants. Typical. Troy listened to him with a disturbed expression. She suppressed a laugh. He looked like the story, whatever context it had, was somehow sickening. A little chuckle escaped her lips.

Zeke and Chad were talking about basketball, Kelsi, Gabriella and Taylor about math and music.

After a while, the words about basketball were dying and replaced by another topic instead. Her. She couldn't hear what they said as it was whispered, but the looks they shot into her direction spoke for themselves.

"How's your correction of the math test doing?" Chad then asked aloud. Sharpay stared at him.

"What?" She flinched at the sound of her own voice, high-pitched and squeaky all on a sudden. How did he find out?

"You know", the boy continued, leaning over the table slightly, as if he were telling a secret.

"Troy's got your test."

Sharpay swallowed hard, turning her gaze towards the boy she had started to trust a little. He didn't seem like he heard the conversation between Chad and her. He was too engrossed in the seemingly weird and awkward story Jason still hadn't finished. She didn't like how he seemed to ignore her. How he didn't even try to defend himself, but then again, how could he? He hadn't even noticed the little words that had passed between her and the dark-skinned boy.

"You know, a bad grade isn't the end of the world. You shouldn't worry about it. I could help you practice for the next one, if you want?" It was Zeke talking, the only one who really seemed to care about her right now. Sharpay decided to give him a little smile- a rarity.

"Not the end of the world?" Chad talked again, this time loud enough for the whole table to her them. "You got an F in the math test! If you like summer school, then it's not the end of the world. But for every normal person it is!"

Suddenly, the whole table stared at her and Sharpay began to feel truly uncomfortable. Troy glared at his friend.

"Why did you tell her?"

Sharpay turned towards him.  
"Oh, so it's true! You somewhere, _accidentally_, find my math test, show it around and probably laugh your ass of about how stupid I've been! Why don't you tell them the whole story, Troy, huh? Tell them all you know! Everything! Maybe you're lucky and I'll be forced to live in a Nuthouse for the next few months! Oh, but I forgot. I can't even do that. I might freeze the other patients." At the last sentence, she glared at Chad, then back at Troy with a strange mix of fury and disappointment written all over her face. It hurt Troy to see her look at him like that. He could imagine how betrayed she must feel. How lonely. Without Ryan even.

Sharpay slammed her hands on the table, causing a loud slam to echo throughout the cafeteria.

"That's enough." She muttered, unsuccessfully trying to keep her voice low. "I'm done here. I still have my dignity after all."

And with that, she stood up and left, all eyes on her, staring at her as she did so.

Troy sat there frozen, while everyone else looked at him with questioning eyes. His head buzzed as he, for the first time, understood what it must feel like to have a migraine.

Then, he rose up as well, throwing a final glare at his best friend, muttering something familiar to 'Thanks for ruining it all.' and leaving the cafeteria, trying to find Sharpay and explain. At that very moment, he didn't even care that he had left his friends and girlfriend at their table without any explanation. All he cared about was to make it up to the girl who had left the room because of his stupidity. _What, if she did something to herself now?_

He could imagine it. And the mere thought of it hurt. It would be his fault.

Thankfully, he found her in the hallway, sitting on the floor with her back leaning against some locker. She sat in a position very unalike for her, her knees pulled up to her chin, resting it there, and her arms hugging her legs. It was a position that seemed to scream out one world: devasted. That was how she probably felt, being in a bad mood all day and then something like that. When Troy had learned one thing about Sharpay Evans, then it was that she was very easily to be broken, that she was, deep behind the mask, very troubled and fragile.

He had thought about her mental state a lot the last two nights, and his conclusions scared him.

He quickly repressed the thought and sat down next to her, without any words.

"Go." She didn't seem to be able to say more than this single syllable right know. She didn't even look at him. She just sat there, staring at the wall in front of them. Troy felt utterly relieved that there was no one in the hallway right now. He wouldn't know how to talk to her then.

"I'm not going." He answered with a slight shake of his head. "Not until you gave me the chance to explain."

He noticed her shifting again, letting one leg slide to the ground, hugging the other one even tighter.

"Are you hurt?"

Sharpay looked at him for the first time, a confused look on her face.

"Why should I be?"

Troy shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know. You just seem to shift a lot. It seems like you are hurt."

Sharpay shook her head and looked at the wall again, deep in thought. She looked so imperfect right now, so unusual for her. It was the first time in school that her hair was out of place and her clothes were not perfect. A loose stand of hair hung into her face and for a second, Troy wanted to reach out and brush it back. But that moment was gone as fast as it had occurred.

"You told me to trust you." Sharpay started, her voice somehow melancholic. Troy knew that she tended to dramatize things, but something in the expression on his face told him that she was seriously hurt. And he didn't mean the physical pain that she hadn't even denied. He meant the disappointment she felt. He had violated her trust, and he felt deeply ashamed of it.

"You told me that I needed to trust you to be friends. But, how can I trust you now?"

For a moment, Troy wasn't sure whether she talked to him or to herself. It sounded much like a monologue to him, like a rhetorical question that didn't need to be answered, but he did it anyway, choosing his words carefully.

"I know what you fee-"

"You don't know _anything!_" She interrupted rudely, quickly looking at him before turning her gaze towards the ceiling. "You don't know what all that means to me. I really thought that, with time, I could trust you. I really did. But showing around my test, the one I threw into the trashcan, that's low, Troy, even if you don't like me."

"But… I _do_ like you. I told you so. I don't like the ice queen, but the other side. And I didn't show it around. I pulled it out of the trashcan- yes! But I didn't show it around. Chad saw it without me wanting him to. He just walked up to me and I hadn't noticed."

Sharpay shook her head in disbelieve.

"That sounds extremely made up, don't you think?"

This time, it was a rhetorical question. She knew the answer already, only asking it to make her point. Then, she looked at Troy again, this time directly in the eyes.

"I really like you, Troy. I really do, and I think you know that as well. Everyone does. But _please" _Her eyes were begging. Troy never noticed before how beautiful they were. " _Please _don't use it against me."

"I would never do that." He answered with complete honesty. They looked into each others eyes, and in exactly this moment, Sharpay forgave him. She didn't forget, and still didn't believe him, but she was willing to forgive by a single look into his eyes, as pleading as her own.

"Never again?" she asked, an exhausted sound in her voice.

"Never again."

And with that, they both smiled simultaneously and knew that everything was alright again.

They sat together in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts.

"What is it that made you have such a bad mood?" Troy asked out of the blue, making Sharpay shift again, this time from both, pain and discomfort.

"I'd rather not talk about it. It's kinda personal."

"Did you have a bad dream again?"

She shook her head, followed by a heartbreaking sigh.

"I wish it were a dream."

Troy wanted to ask her further, but eventually decided against it. This seemed to be way too private. Maybe he would ask her again some time, in a few weeks maybe, but for now, he was just utterly relieved that they were friends again.

"So, we're good?" He asked just to make sure.

"We're good." She smiled a little and they hugged weirdly for a moment. The newly found contact was awkward for the both of them, but they did it nonetheless, knowing that this hug, as weird as it might be, sealed their promise to be friends again.

And to them, that meant the world…

IIIIIIIIIIIIIAUTHOR'S NOTEIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Hallöchen (Hello-y)!

So, this is what I was able to come up with. Personally, I'm not really content with it, and I have to apologize for the delay, too. School started 4 weeks ago and it's already kicking my ass. My new English teacher is really stupid. I raise my hand all the time and he never chooses me to speak. And if I once don't raise my hand he wants me to do it, and- I make a mistake. That reminds me- I've got a question for the one's of you who have English as their first language: How do you pronounce the word 'worry'. All my life I've been absolutely positive that it's pronounced with a usual 'o' sound. But somehow, strange, new English teacher was correcting me that it is spoken with some kind of 'a' sound (like in car). And I seriously can't imagine anyone saying 'warry'. You know what I mean?

Of course, I could be wrong too, but that would mean that the 2 English teachers I had before never really cared to correct me (or anyone in class).

Or maybe it is some kind of Australian accent (Australia is our topic right now (with very useful vocabulary just like 'platypus' or 'penal colony'. Seriously? Have you ever used these words in a normal conversation? Isn't it illogical that we learn words like platypus but the whole class has no clue what 'regret' means? It is only me knowing this vocabulary from reading))


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4: Honesty**

One week had passed and the twin's dispute was already forgotten. Troy didn't know exactly how or when they had made up, but Ryan and Sharpay where back to their normal 'dog and master' appearance. Ryan followed his sister and stood by her side with absolute loyalty while Sharpay was her normal bossy self again, even though there still seemed to be a tension between her and her brother.

Troy had been thinking a lot about the things Sharpay had said, trying to read the little hints she kept on giving him, but to him, it seemed like hieroglyphs or a foreign language. He didn't understand her and began to doubt that he ever would.

She was a true mystery.

Unfortunately, Troy and Sharpay hadn't had the time to talk a lot over the last week. They had spent one lunch-break together, but apart from that there was just the occasional small-talk by her locker, nothing more. But the small smiles she'd give him every time he spoke to her told him that she appreciated his presence a lot.

"Hey dude, what's up with you and Sharpay, huh? It's like you're glued to her locker in the time between the lessons." Chad chuckled while putting on his shirt again after basketball practice.

"You don't know her, Chad. She's more than she seems to be, really. She's a little conceited sometimes, but she does have feelings. I think she is just…" he paused, thinking of a word to describe her best. " … misunderstood."

Chad gave him a doubtful look.

"Okay, who are you, and where is Troy? Seriously, has she brainwashed you?"

Troy rolled his eyes and began to tie his shoes.

"Just forget it!"

Sharpay stood by her locker in desperate search of her physics-book while paying little attention to her brother's news.

Ryan was all excited.

" … She said that auditions start at the end of the school year so we can start rehearsing after summer vacation." Ryan informed her and waited for a response, not completely sure whether his sister was listening or not. He would have expected her to clap her hands enthusiastically while beginning to rant about whatever idea popped into her head.

"Shar? Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, Yeah. Darbus' new musical, auditions end of school-year, rehearsals starting after summer." She repeated, the annoyance dripping from her voice. Today was one of the bad days again. Ever since she woke up this morning, she felt sick and had that penetrating throbbing in her head. She tried to ignore it tough.

She turned back to her locker again and looked trough it once more. She couldn't have possibly left her book at home? With homework-

"Do you think Gabriella and Troy will audition again?", Ryan asked tentatively, already a little scared of his sister's reaction. Sharpay frowned.

"I don't know… I guess. But that doesn't matter! We'll start practicing as soon as possible! They won't have a chance!" A smirk crept its way onto the sister's face. Ryan knew that look.

"You're planning something." He observed. "It better won't be anything to sabotage Troy and Gabby's performance. Troy's your friend now, you kno-" He was cut short by a finger on his lips.

"Nope. Nothing sabotaging this time. Let's say we'll just get ourselves some… advantages."

She smiled, already having a small plan worked out in her head. It wouldn't be cheating, would it? –Nope! And even if it was, Sharpay Evans doesn't have a bad conscience. Never.

"Hey, Shar. Ryan."

Sharpay spun around and met Troy's gaze. Of course he would come. His visits by her locker were routine by now. She couldn't help the smile forming on her lips.

"Hey, Troy." She greeted him like always, no trace left of the once flirtatious tone that used to be in her voice. Sharpay had promised herself not to go back into the 'obsessed-drawing-hearts-with-their-initials-in-them-phase". She was way over this, at least she tried to convince herself of that. She gave him another small smile before turning around again for yet another try to find her physics-book.

"Something wrong?" Troy asked after he had watched her rummaging around for a while.

"Yes! My physics-book is lost, and with it my homework! As if my grades wouldn't be bad enough anyway."

"Well, that's your own fault, Shar." Ryan interjected carefully. That comment got him an icy glare.

"Shut up, Ryan! You don't know anything!"

"Whoa!" Troy stepped in between the twins. "What's up with you guys lately? Relax."

Ryan nodded in agreement.

"You know what, Sharpay? I think Troy is right. We shouldn't let our little conflict destroy our relationship."

Sharpay nodded slightly. "Okay…"

Troy would've liked to know what that conflict was, but he didn't dare to ask. If Sharpay wanted to tell him, then she would.

"I'll go get to my philosophy class then. See you Shar, Troy." The twin brother nodded in their direction before strolling off to class.

Troy and Sharpay were left in silence.

"Soo… what's it with the physics homework?"

"It's gone!" Sharpay whined. "And I actually did it for once. I don't have anyone to copy from! I'm a goner, Troy."

The boy couldn't help but chuckle at her theatrical explanation.

"Well. I'm sure you'll survive… Or maybe I can ask Gabby to let you copy, you know?"

"NO!" Sharpay nearly shouted. She may not be the best student this semester, but she had her pride. Copying from the girl she despised the most was strictly against her rules. Sharpay felt the throbbing in her head again, combined with the sickness that has been bothering her all day.

"Why not?"

"Because… I'll go home now anyway."

Troy arched an eyebrow. "You skip?"

"No. I'll leave early because I don't feel so well… seriously. I don't know what it is, but it keeps coming back." Sharpay actually did look a little pale and her eyebrows were knitted together in an attempt to lessen the pain in her forehead.

Troy's look became one of sympathy. He put an arm around her and rubbed her back in a soothing manner. Sharpay felt confused by his touch. On the one hand, it seemed to be too close, on the other hand she somehow enjoyed this little caress. Her body didn't know whether to stiffen or relax.

"Do you want me to take you home since Ryan is already in class?"

Sharpay nodded slightly. "Yes. That'd be nice. Let's just go to the secretary first and tell her you're taking me home…"

"Alright."

It wasn't a secret that the Evans were wealthy. But when Troy reached the Evans mansion, he was shocked nonetheless. It was the biggest house he had ever seen, with a big pool in the backyard and, how Sharpay informed him, an indoor pool as well. The house had five stories and a giant front door. 'Build 2005 by Vance and Darby Evans " was engraved above the door.

Troy looked at Sharpay who only shrugged.

"Don't ask. I wasn't the one who asked for it." Then she pulled out her keys and opened the door.

Sharpay and Troy entered the hallway, which seemed to be nearly ridiculously big. There was a small table with a phone on the eastern wall and a mahogany coat hook and a shoe cabinet next to it. On the ceiling there sparkled a shiny chandelier.

"Wow."

He looked back to Sharpay who massaged her temples.

"You okay?"

She couldn't help but smile at how concerned he sounded. He was a little like Ryan when it came to this, though Troy seemed way more worried about her than her brother did, but she didn't resent Ryan for it. After 16 years of living together, you couldn't possibly be so concerned anymore about every little ache.

"It's okay. Don't worry."

Troy gave her another sympathetic look before letting his gaze wander around the pictures on the wall. There was Sharpay's parents' wedding photo, a picture of what seemed to be a Christmas several years ago, Sharpay and Ryan being around eight years old, unwrapping their presents. The last picture was bigger than the others and seemed to be more of a painting. It showed the twins again, a lot younger, maybe four or five, standing next to each other and holding hands. Sharpay's sweet little face smiled at who ever it was who made the picture while Ryan had a rather fearful expression on his face. Troy chuckled at this.

"What happened to your brother back then?"

Sharpay couldn't help but smile. "I told him there were wolves in the forest you see in the background."

Troy laughed. It was so sharpay-ish of her to do that, even back then.

"And you see- ", Sharpay added with a slight gesture towards herself on the picture. "Once upon a time, I was naturally blonde. It just turned darker with age. Ryan's did, too, but he was always lighter than I was." She put a hand to her forehead and held it there. "I guess I'll go take a pill. Why don't you sit down on the couch already and I'll come after you?"

"Alright. Sure it's okay?"

"I'm fine. I'll take a pill and it'll go away." Sharpay assured before turning around and leaving the hallway towards what probably was the kitchen door. Troy decided to use the minute alone to look around the living room.

There was a black leather couch by the wall, a huge flatscreen TV opposite and various shelves full of books, videos, CDs and DVDs. Troy curiously looked through some of them. The books and CDs weren't of a special genre; it was a mix with a little bit of everything, from the Beatles to the Black Eyes Peas (AN: god, I just translated that name into German for the first time… It sounds absolutely ridiculous!). However, it was the video-collection that really got Troy's attention- especially the home-made ones with labels like: "R + S's first day of school" or " Christmas 2000". Troy couldn't resist and pull out a video labeled "Sharpay and Uncle Drew singing Christmas songs".

"Busted!", Sharpay's voice rang out from behind him and made him jump. He tried to come up with an excuse but nothing came out of his mouth. That just made it into the top 5 most embarrassing moments of his life. "Um… I- I'm sorry. I only wanted to take a look and…"

"Nah. It's okay. You haven't watched it, so it's cool." She tiniest smile appeared on her face and Troy instinctively put his arms around her.

"Are you better?"

She smirked.

"Show me the pill that takes effect in two minutes and you are my hero!"

Troy only shook his head. "Stop making fun of me! That question was supposed to be serious."

"I know. And I appreciate your concern, Troy."

He chuckled. "Why are you talking like that?"

"Like what?"

" 'I appreciate your concern' Who am I, the president?"

" I was just taught to talk properly, that's all. Better that then saying creations like "that was real good"."

"I don't say that."

"I know. But some people do, and it bothers me."

She carefully freed herself from his embrace and made her way to sit on the couch.

"You can leave now, if you want."

"Are you sure you're alright being alone?"

She nodded slightly, followed by a shrug.

"I guess… Let me just walk you to the door."

She stood up again and they both made their way to the giant front door.

"Thanks for taking me home… Would you tell Ryan what happened when you're back in school?"

"Yeah, sur-"

He was cut of by Sharpay holding on to him all on a sudden as her legs gave out.

"Shar?"

She steadied herself again, blinking a few times and then letting go of him again.

"It's okay. My sight just got black for a moment. I probably stood up too fast. It's fine now."

She looked at him expectantly.

" Goodbye, Troy." she pressed.

"You don't seriously think I'll leave you alone like that?"

"I'm okay. Really."

"I won't leave now. You nearly collapsed."

"It was only my blood circulation."

"I'll stay. End of discussion!"

"Yes, Daddy." The small smile was back on her face and they both walked in again and made themselves comfortable on the couch.

Sharpay eventually fell asleep with her head on his shoulder and Troy found himself toying around with a stand of her hair, wondering what shade exactly it would naturally have if she wouldn't die it.

The ringing of Troy's cell phone cut through the silence and woke them both; Sharpay from sleep and Troy from his banal thoughts.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and fought the urge to roll his eyes at the caller ID. It was Gabriella. Not that he had a problem with her, only right now at this moment, he didn't feel like talking to her. He picked up nonetheless.

"Yeah, Gabby?"

"Troy, where are you? The teacher said you brought Sharpay home because she is ill, but that was over 2 hours ago. Why aren't you back in school?"

"Listen. Sharpay nearly collapsed and I can't possibly leave her alone after that. What if something happens and there is no one there?"

"Why didn't you tell Ryan about it. He could have brought her home."

"He was already in class. And it's no problem. I'll just wait here until Ryan get's home."

"He'll probably come home right now when he hears how Sharpay is. He'll be worried."

Troy looked over at Sharpay who only mouthed : 'She mustn't tell him'

"Umm… please don't tell him about the collapse-thing. He doesn't need to worry. She feels better now anyway."

He shot a questioning look in Sharpay's direction. She tiredly ran a hand through her hair but nodded

"Alright…" Gabriella said on the other end of the line. Her tone was somewhat thoughtful, like she wasn't sure whether it was right what she did or not. "Just call the next time. The teachers asked for you and we didn't know what to say."

"Okay, Gabs."

"Oh! I need to hang up now. Bye, Troy. I love you."

"Bye, Gabby."

Troy hung up the phone and settled back into the couch.

Sharpay looked at him with a frown, her head tilted to the side.

"Why didn't you say 'I love you' back?"

Troy came to realize that Sharpay was very observing. He ran a hand through his hair, searching for the right words to explain.

"Well… I wouldn't say I love her. Love is a big word, you know? I like her. Maybe it's some kind of crush. But love? I don't think so. I imagine love to be more, stronger."

Sharpay nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"I like this." she stated.

"What? That I don't love my girlfriend?"

"Nooo… your honesty. Well, to be honest myself, I also like that you don't love her, as mean as it sounds. I don't like her and never will. That's a fact. No offense."

"None taken… Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. The pills seem to work. The sickness is almost gone and the headache is only a slight pulsation." She smiled, this time bigger, before leaning her head onto his shoulder again, taking in the position from earlier.

"Can you keep secrets?" Sharpay asked after a while. She had opened her mouth several times before, only to close it again, like she had been debating whether or not to ask the question.

"Yes."

There was silence for a while.

"So can I." Sharpay said, deciding not to share her secrets with him just yet and rather keep them for herself.

" That's mean! I thought you like honesty?"

She had gotten Troy's curiosity and somehow she knew there was no going back.

"Well. I've got three secrets. They're kind of connected, but that's not the point…"

"Do you want to tell me now or not?"

"Well… Only one for now. Give me some time."

She was silent for what seemed to be an eternity, thinking of the right words to say, but not finding them.

"Well, to make it quick: I am not Vance Evans' daughter."

"Huh?" That was unexpected. He would have never thought of that. "Soo… you and Ryan are adopted?"

"No. I said that I am not Vance Evans' daughter, not that Ryan and I are not Darby and Vance Evans' kids. Ryan and I are only half-siblings."

"But- You're twins!"

Sharpay nodded. "Yes, we are, but we're not identical ones, which means two eggs, each one needs a sperm-"

"Yeah, I actually was there when we had that in biology."

"Stop interrupting me!" She put a finger on his lips to silence him and Troy felt his lips become somewhat hot by her touch.

"So, what I try to say is that is doesn't matter whether the eggs are fertilized by the same person or not."

There was a short moment of silence. Troy's head spun.

"That's why he hates me so much, Troy. He hates me because I am the living evidence of my mother cheating on him." Sharpay's voice was a mere whisper and broke in the end. Troy put an arm around her in a soothing manner but Sharpay pushed him off before rising from the couch, walking up and down the room while talking.

"I always knew that I was different. I always knew. Brown eyes are not in the family and I can't possibly have blood group AB when my parents have 0 and A. And then I found…"

She stopped in front of a small cabinet with folders in it and pulled out a green one.

" … Then I found this!"

She held an envelope out to him with trembling hands. He took out the folded paper inside, a paternity test.

"Read." she ordered, her voice small and with a tone he had only heard once before.

And he read.

… _with such genetic constellations 100% not the father. _

Troy looked at her with a look full of perplexity.

"I found it almost three years ago when I looked for a folder…", Sharpay explained and started to pace around the room again. It seemed like she was hyperventilating.

Troy stood up and grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place.

"Relax. Calm down."

"Calm down? Try to calm down when your brother is always better than you, when you are always to blame, when it is always you who is the black sheep of the family, the bastard whose father is unknown-"

"Hush. It's okay. First sit down and breathe."

He led her back to the couch and sat down with her, still not letting go.

Sharpay took in a deep breath and no one said a word for a few minutes; a time they both needed to unravel their thoughts.

"Does Ryan know about it?" Troy asked after a while, wondering if maybe this was their conflict. But Sharpay shook her head.

"I can't tell him."

"Why not?"

Silence. Troy knew that this was all she was going to tell him for now. And it was a lot.

Sharpay's honesty touched him somehow, though he didn't really know why or how. It was just important for him that she knew she could trust him.

"Your secret's save with me."

She smiled slightly. The smile didn't fit her misty eyes. The tears threatened to fall, but she held the back with success.

"Have you talked to your parents about it?"

"Yes. To my mother, that is. First she tried to deny it, then she said that I should be grateful that _he_ is such a great father to me although I'm not his. She didn't tell me anything about my real father. Maybe she doesn't even know. Who knows how many affaires she had?"

Her tone had changed from an angry one to one of pure bitterness. And somehow, Troy began to understand.

Troy didn't leave the Evans' house until the late evening. Ryan came home quite concerned but left the house again soon after, saying something about his dance lessons. Troy and Sharpay spent the rest of the day talking- not about secrets, but about normal High-School things. He left when Sharpay's mother came home and he and Sharpay texted the rest of the night. Sharpay started to trust him a little more each day and Troy was confident that everything would work out with time…

So, here I am. Sorry for the delay, guys, but school is really kicking my ass right now and I didn't have much time. Plus, it takes me quite long to write these chapters. It's over 6 pages. However, I'm really sorry, again. But I haven't abandoned this story (yet) and so, I'll hope I'll be able to update again in January.

ANs:

'_I appreciate your concern.'_ I actually wrote this and then thought: "That just doesn't sound like something a teenager would say…" But I kept it, because I think it sounds somewhat intelligent, at least to me. And about the 'real good' thing: seriously? I read a text in my English book in which this stood. Do you guys really rape your own language like that? (our teacher said this was normal, colloquial English in the US) What have the poor adverbs done to you that you boycott them? Is 'really well' soo hard?

Alright, I don't want to offend anyone, but I just can't stand it when people have bad grammar (in English as well as in German)

_Twins but half-siblings:_ I actually saw this in TV. It's possible, though it's rather rare. This was actually my whole inspiration for this story… weird…

**Christmas is coming up! Yay! **

What are your wishes for Christmas? I still need some inspiration.

And what are your good resolutions for the next year? Mine is to pay more attention in school and to update more frequently :-P

Where do you celebrate New Year's Eve?

(sorry, I'm just really nosy)

**Please Review! I put a lot of afford in this and really appreciate every kind of constructive feedback.**

Useless knowledge: § 14, section 1211 of the American "Code of Federal Regulations" forbids US-Americans to come in contact with aliens or their vehicles.


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